More fallout from the Broward school bus mess

Posted: 9:45 AM, August 22, 2012Updated: 9:45 AM, August 22, 2012

The Broward school bus mess shows no sign of slowing up.

Each day brings new revelations. At Tuesday's school board meeting, we learned that two board members -- Nora Rupert and Donna Korn -- were among the casualties of the crisis. Their own children didn't receive school bus information, so like thousands of others, their families were left in the lurch.

Also yesterday a photograph surfaced of boxes that purportedly held thousands of student bus cards that were never sent out. The boxes were sitting on the floor of the district's central bus depot. The photograph was taken yesterday morning.

And schools Supt. Robert Runcie, who came down from Chicago last year to lead the district, caught ire from union officials, transportation employees, parents, and school board members.

"[Runcie] needs to go back and investigate now and investigate this whole situation," said Board Member Robin Bartleman. "He needs to look at those pictures. Why weren't those cards mailed out?"

Again AWOL was Runcie's hand-picked transportation department chief, Chester Tindall, a Chicago transplant who numerous employees claim has driven the department into a state of utter confusion and disarray. Some at the meeting called for Tindall's firing.

Vehicle maintenance worker Mark Corwin, who has a long history of pointing out problems at the board, says the transportation department has been driven off a virtual cliff. One problem he points out: There are not enough parts to fix buses.

"We can't get parts," Corwin wrote in an email to the board yesterday. "The parts dept. at Central was completely removed & sent to Southwest. The bus shop, truck shop & mower shop can't get parts. The bus shop & truck shop have been robbing parts from deadlined vehicles to keep other vehicles on the road. From what I understand the other lots are getting 'thin' on parts."

Now I'm hearing reports that there is a bus shortage as well. I'm trying to get to the bottom of that one.